San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Tips on decorating a mancave
By Donna Provencher / Contributing Writer
The time is here. You’ve finally built your own man cave to store your most beloved personal belongings and to take some time and space to yourself.
What’s the next thing you’ll want to do? Decorate, of course.
Nicole Pulley, owner of Interior Affairs, started her business 15 years ago, focusing on interior design for the multifamily industry, but she also provides residential and commercial design and decorating services, along with home staging.
The “man cave” idea is a popular – but not a new – concept, Pulley said.
“While the concept of the man cave has grown in popularity, the idea is not new,” she noted. “In years past, a garage or backyard shed were typically places where men could escape and take time to indulge in hobbies and tinker with odds and ends.”
And, she added, a place to escape the hubbub of everyday life is popular with all genders. “With the increased popularity of the ‘she-shed,’ it was only fitting that men have a spruced-up space to call their own as well. Man caves provide an atmosphere for men and their friends to gather to watch sports, have poker night, or just relax.”
As with any design, Pulley said, man cave decor is as unique as the individual spending time in it. With so many resources available for DIYers, the design possibilities are endless.
“We tend to see a lot of sports-themed designs,” she said. “However, Interior Affairs has several unique ideas for a man cave. For example, if someone wanted to have a man cave where they can practice music, we offer acoustic wallcoverings to help minimize the noise. For a relaxed, loungy feel, we have LED wallpaper in several different designs to create a relaxed atmosphere or a stunning night club ambiance. The possibilities are endless.”
But, she added, many men will attempt to do their decor themselves. Often, a man cave will be outfitted with old furniture that has long expired, but is kept for its comfort and sentimental reasons, such as a first couch from college.
But, for a little extra “oomph” to your space, working with Interior Affairs can mesh the old with the new, allowing for those items that can’t be parted with to blend seamlessly with new pieces to give the space a completely new look and feel, while maintaining a bit of personal history.
If Pulley were to advise “man cave” owners how to decorate their homeaway-from-home, she would say that personality is key.
“Making a space reflective of you and your likes is ultimately what makes any space unique. Comfort, affordability and personal aesthetic will truly make the space come to life,” she added.
Some must-haves for a man cave are big-screen TVs, comfortable, reclining seating, and a mini-refrigerator with plenty of cold drinks and snacks.
For more information on how you can collaborate with an interior designer to modify your man cave, contact Interior Affairs at 210-600-3475 or visit www. interioraffairssa.com. A new wallpaper showroom is open to the public with hours ranging Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
And if you’re looking for a unique spot for items to furnish your man cave, you’ll want to check out Man Cave Cards and Collectibles, located at 6923 W Loop 1604, Suite 108.
Owner Jeff Paquin said he predominantly sells sports cards and trading cards, with some off-the-beaten path items like World War II cards.
“But [we sell] a lot of items for the
‘man cave’ scenario, a lot of framed sports jerseys, and then there’s smaller framed items which are done with cards, but there’s also 8-by-10 pictures and autographed. So it’s all primarily sports, but it goes all the way from a regular sports card up to a full-sized framed autographed jersey.”
The majority of customers are into trading card aspects, but a sizable percentage of guys are furnishing their man caves with cool accessories, such as building a wall of autographed mini-helmets of certain players, often Dallas or San Antonio players.
He said he thinks most men feel the need to have their own ‘man cave’ in some sense or another.
“I’ve always felt that everybody collects something, so some people just want in their house, their own room, their own space, so something that they say is their sort of passion – they want their piece of them, they want to feel like wherever they live or whatever they do they have a piece of them nearby,” he said.
For more information on Man Cave Cards and Collectibles, email mancavecards@hotmail.com or visit https://www. mancavecardsandcollectibles.com.
It was a pleasure working with McNair over a warranty
issue. McNair called the house every day to check on the progress of the contractors. The customer service was one of the best I have ever seen.
- Mike & Patricia
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